Tag: Black History Month

As a middle-class white male, I know I'm not really in much of a position to bitch about being overlooked or disadvantaged. Still, I'll admit feeling a bit like the odd man out when one of my (formerly) favorite fast food establishments, McDonald's, launched their "I'm Lovin' It" ad campaign in 2003. Few things are more transparent and painful than when a business makes an obvious attempt to pander to minorities, because they usually do such a piss poor job.
Oh sure, fast food chains targeting black people is nothing new, so that's no big deal in and of itself. But historically for TV ads, it seems the chains had their regular campaigns and then they had their "black" ads, replete with awful R&B-esque music and sad attempts to look hip. But McDonald's took it to a whole new leve

The January/February 2008 issue of The History Channel Magazine (yes I subscribe) features some excellent content to commemorate Black History Month - a profile of prominent lawyer and rights activist William Henry Lewis and an expose of so-called sundown towns among them.
So imagine my dismay when I saw a full-page ad in the same issue for this:
Yeah I know that the reasons for the secession of the Southern states and the Civil War are numerous and complicated, but come on. This really is too much. Without even commenting on the utter tackiness of the ring itself - which I would expect to be worn by someone appearing on an episode of Cops - am I the only one who finds it a tad inappropriate that this thing is being advertised in the same issue of a magazine that shows pictures...